• First, because of the record number of people voting before Election Day this year, turnout at the polls today might be less than in 2004.

Four years ago in Colorado, nearly 1.1 million votes were cast on Election Day, according to figures provided by the secretary of state's office. About a million people voted early in 2004, according to the numbers.

This year, more than 1.6 million people already have voted, according to the secretary of state's office. If state officials' predictions of turnout exceeding 90 percent of active voters come true, as many as 2.5 million total votes could be cast this election.

Such front-loading of the voting is expected to take pressure off polling places today, something elections officials hope will keep lines to a minimum.

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"We've got more than double the number of mail-in ballot voters than in 2004," said Josh Liss, Jefferson County's deputy of elections. "And I think that will have an impact at the polls."

• The second prediction is that because clerks were able to start processing mail-in ballots 10 days before the election without actually tabulating results, most clerks expect to release a large chunk of results shortly after the polls close at 7 p.m.

"That will be over 50 percent of the votes cast," said Secretary of State Mike Coffman. "It will give a clear direction for where Colorado is going in this election."

Despite those bright spots, though, election officials say they are prepared for a difficult challenge.

Arapahoe County Clerk Nancy Doty said she planned to have staffers work through Monday night counting mail- in ballots in the hopes of catching up with counting by the time polls open.

"We're working around the clock," Doty said. "We'll be counting all day. We're continuously working."

In Denver, Dillard said 2,300 workers will pack the elections division to count ballots and deal with problems. As an example of how the division has improved procedures, he pointed out that a new bipartisan team of workers now will inspect ballots that scanners detect as flawed.

Those workers will determine problems on ballots that are easily corrected, such as a voter who voted for president but didn't cast votes for any of the ballot initiatives. Those ballots will be manually fed back into the scanner for tabulation. In the past, all such ballots had to be sent to another room, where a duplicated ballot was manually filled out and prepared for scanning.

"We are set up to deal with anything that may come our way on election night," Dillard said.

Meanwhile, a number of voter-protection campaigns have descended upon the state, putting staffers in county offices and individual polling places to look for voting problems.

Colorado Common Cause executive director Jenny Flanagan — whose organization is part of the Just Vote Colorado campaign, a segment of a broader national effort — said hundreds of voters already have called the organization's hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE. Many of those callers asked where their polling places were or whether they were registered to vote, she said. A few have reported problems trying to vote.

Jefferson County's Liss said he expects no major problems in his county on Election Day.

What you need to know about the vote

•Timing: Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. If you're in line by 7 p.m., you should be allowed to vote.

•Check your voter registration before heading to the polls at govotecolorado.com or call the secretary of state's elections office at 303-894-2200.

•Have proper identification and arrive knowing how you want to vote because election booth indecision could worsen what might already be long polling-place lines.

•Do not wear campaign buttons or T-shirts into the polling place. If you forget, cover them with a sweater or jacket or turn T-shirts inside-out. Poll workers also may ask you to turn off your cellphone before entering. You are not allowed to create a disturbance at a polling place.

If you still have a mail-in ballot:

•Do not put your mail-in ballot in the mail. It will not reach your county clerk in time to be counted. You can drop off your mail-in ballot at a number of sites in your county. Contact your county clerk's office for drop-off locations.

If your mail-in ballot never arrived:

•You can still vote, but you will have to cast a provisional ballot at your designated polling place. Find out where that is at govotecolorado.com or call your county clerk.

If you aren't listed as a registered voter at your polling place:

•If you believe you are an eligible voter, ask to cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are designed so that nobody should have to leave a voting site without casting a ballot.

•Contact your county clerk, the secretary of state's office or any number of groups that have set up hotlines if you're having trouble casting a ballot. Among the most active groups is Just Vote Colorado, which is part of a national voter-protection effort. Call them at 866-OUR-VOTE (687-8683).

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